Sex Offender Caught Breaking Into Home Of Woolsey Fire Evacuees, Stealing Women's Clothing
THOUSAND OAKS (CBSLA) – A convicted sex offender is facing allegations that he broke into at least one vacant homes in the Woolsey Fire burn area and stole women's clothing.
Jonah Bregman, 25, of Northridge was arrested Saturday on charges of burglary and engaging in lewd conduct. Bregman is a convicted sex offender who was out on parole for a residential burglary conviction, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office reports.
The incident back Nov. 10 when deputies responded to a burglary call at a home in the 1700 block of Bridle Oaks Court in Thousand Oaks. According to the sheriff's office, the residents told deputies they had returned to their home after being evacuated to find a barefoot man running from the home carrying stolen clothes.
Surveillance video from a neighbor showed the suspect fleeing in an early 2000s-model Ford Escape.
Then, on Nov. 14, deputies were called to Old Meadows Park in Thousand Oaks after several pieces of women's clothes were found in a park restroom. Surveillance video showed an unidentified man walking in and out of the restroom dressed in lingerie.
The video showed the suspect, wearing an ankle monitor, speed away in a Ford Escape that matched the description of the vehicle in the home break-in, VCSO reports.
LATEST COVERAGE OF THE WOOLSEY FIRE
Sheriff's detectives later identified Bregman as the suspect in both incidents and arrested him Saturday at a relative's home in the 1600 block of El Verano Drive in Thousand Oaks. They later searched his Northridge home, where they found the clothing which had been stolen from the Bridle Oaks Court home, along with other women's clothing, the sheriff's office said. It's unclear if he was suspected in any other break-ins in the Woolsey Fire burn area.
Bregman was booked into jail on $70,000 bail. A parole hold was also placed on him. His arraignment was scheduled for Tuesday.
The Woolsey Fire broke out around 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 8 in the area of Alfa Road and East Street, south of Simi Valley. On Nov. 9, it jumped the south side of the 101 Freeway at Chesebro Road near Calabasas and began spreading into Malibu. As of Tuesday morning, it was 96,949 acres in size and was 96 percent contained. It has destroyed at least 1,500 structures and damaged 341 others.
